US weekly chemical railcar traffic jumps 9.2%

10 April 2008 17:42  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--US chemical railcar traffic for the week ended 5 April rose 9.2% from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said on Thursday.

 

Chemical railcar loadings for the week totalled 31,478, compared with 28,835 for the same week in 2007, the association said.

 

Total chemical railcar loadings in the year-to-date period through 5 April came to 434,549, up 3.1% from the same period in 2007.

 

The AAR did not cite reasons for the increase in chemicals shipments.

 

Analysts consider rail shipment data to be a good early indicator of current chemical industry activity. Railroads transport more than 20% of the chemicals produced in the US.

 

Railcar loadings for all 19 commodities tracked by the AAR for the week were 330,371.

 

This was an increase of 3.6% compared with 318,887 in the same week of 2007, as higher shipments of grain, food and metallic ores offset a decline in shipments for motor vehicles, primary forest products and lumber.

 

Overall railcar loadings for the 19 commodity categories listed by the AAR reached 4.5m year to date through 5 April, up 1.3% when compared with the same period of 2007, the association said.

By: Stefan Baumgarten
+1 713 525 2653

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